Logos: What You Get with a Pro

I get it. Every business owner wants to save money, and if designing a logo cheaply is an option, why wouldn’t we? DIY tools like Canva or enticing “freelancer” sites like Fiverr fool us into thinking we’re actually saving money. But EVERYTHING comes at a cost. You can save money on the front end OR the back end, but you can’t do both. I’ve met countless people in my 25 years as a graphic designer who came to me with one of these cheaply created logos, relinquishing it to either fix or redesign. And yet I’ve never had a client walk away unsatisfied with their professionally designed logo. That’s because when you hire a professional designer, you’re investing in transparent, upfront pricing and a process that ensures your entire brand identity is unique, polished, and professional. 

So, let’s talk about what you get when you work with a pro:

1. Onboarding: Getting to Know You

Onboarding is where the magic starts. A professional designer takes the time to understand your business, your preferences, and your vision. This isn’t just about picking colors and fonts but about diving deep into your commercial identity. It allows the designer to hit the mark, so to speak, more accurately when showing you options. Onboarding gives your designer insight into your competitors, ensuring your logo stands uniquely and won’t be confused. 

DIY tools and budget options like Fiverr often skip this step entirely. They churn out generic, template-based designs without understanding your business, leaving you with a logo that could belong to anyone — or worse, looks eerily similar to your competitors.

2. Custom, Non-Stock Design

A professional logo is custom-built, just for you. It’s never reused for someone else because it belongs to you, the client. A custom logo reflects your brand’s personality and sets you apart as a trustworthy, professional entity. When a logo looks canned, generic, or like someone pulled it from a stock library, it makes your business appear less legitimate, and as we mentioned previously, trust is critical in our scam-happy world. 

DIY tools and template-based platforms like Canva can’t deliver this level of customization. Sure, they’re quick and cheap, but they often result in logos that look like everyone else’s.

3. Multiple Designs & Revisions

Rarely does a client fall in love with the very first design they see. Seeing multiple designs allows you to compare, weigh, recombine or tweak and be “sold” on a final look. This process also opens up possible designs you may have never thought to consider. Most pros build 1-2 rounds of refinement into their pricing, which allows you to experiment with things like colors, fonts and layouts. 

Compare that to Fiverr, where every tweak or additional design comes with an extra fee. By the time you’re done, you might end up paying more than you would have for a professional and still not love the result.

4. Upfront Pricing

When you work with a professional designer, they should communicate all pricing and deliverables up front, with no surprises. Unfortunately, many budget options are notorious for hidden fees. Need a revision? That’ll cost you. Want your logo in more than one file format? That’s extra.

I’ve seen clients who were misled into thinking they were saving money on Fiverr or similar platforms, only to end up paying more than they would have with a professional and still needing to have their logo redesigned later. Don’t fall into the trap of “cheap” that ends up costing you more.

5. Rendering in Different Colors

A professional designer ensures your logo looks great in every scenario, whether it’s in full color, one color, or reversed. This is crucial for maintaining a polished and professional image across all mediums. Pros should include multiple renderings of your logo in each color combination, making your life easier and your brand more consistent.

DIY tools and budget designers often overlook this step, leaving you scrambling when you need a black-and-white version for embroidery or a reversed version for a dark background. A pro thinks ahead so you don’t have to, saving you money down the road when these incidental expenses creep up.

6. Deliverables in a Variety of Formats

If you’re only getting your logo as a JPG, you’ve got a problem. Sure, JPGs are fine when used on screen interfaces, but it will never be the gold standard for printing. JPGs are considered a “lossy” compression format meaning they will deteriorate and lose quality each time you resave them. A professional designer provides your logo in a variety of formats, including vector-based EPS files, which most printers, engravers, and embroiderers prefer.

Vector artwork allows you to infinitely increase or decrease your logo size without losing one bit of quality and sharpness. This is super important when designing a logo that will be used for any range of media size, from car wraps and billboards to imprinting on ink pens or business cards. You’ll also receive transparent PNGs for layering your logo over images and color blocks, ensuring your social media posts and marketing materials look polished and professional.

Without the proper file format, you’ll likely face additional charges from printers or in-house designers to convert your logo, and the results won’t be as sharp as they would be from the original designer. Many Fiverr “freelancers” don’t understand how to create in vector format, nor do they have the professional tools to do it. Likewise, online DIY tools like Canva are not equipped to design and export this necessary format. 

7. The Brand Style Guide

Many designers will also include a brand style guide in their pricing that displays your logo, its acceptable variations, and any associated fonts and colors. This style guide can help you develop a cohesive brand identity without having to guess at things like typefaces and color swatches. It allows you as the client to take that logo and develop materials that work in harmony to promote your business.

Professional brand style guides will include complete color codes for HEX, RGB, CMYK and Pantone equivalencies. They will also offer suggestions on font usage and where to purchase licensing for fonts. This is something neither Canva nor Fiverr offer. I don’t advise developing a logo without one as it is literally the “key” to your brand’s visual identity.

Saving You Money

Like I said earlier, everything comes at a cost, but you get to decide when you pay it. Saving money on the front end may seem like a good option, but hidden costs will bite you every time and leave you settling for a generic, cookie-cutter solution. Investing with a professional allows you to see the whole cost before you get started and gives you what you need to launch a successful branding campaign. You should never have to scramble for files you don’t have or settle for a logo you don’t love. 

At Cup O Code, we specialize in creating custom logos that capture your brand’s vision and help you stand out. Ready to get started? Let’s talk about saving you money by not just designing a logo, but developing your brand. Contact us today!

Read more about why your logo is the one of the highest yielding investments you’ll ever make in your business!